


The Star of Peace

by Vanpat



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-21 17:41:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7397167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanpat/pseuds/Vanpat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yhwach has successfully stolen Kurosaki Ichigo's powers and has left through a portal. However, what he finds at the other side is something his eyes have not seen.</p><p>Spoiler up to 680.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Star of Peace

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a theoretical 'what if' that I wrote because of my discontentment with how things have been done in Bleach lately. It's also my way of twisting a knife in Yhwach's ego for his arrogance. Expect a nice fight scene and some heart wrenching at the end!

The Sealed King of the Quincies entered the rift and entered the part of the Dangai that he restructured into a vast arena for the final battle between himself and the Shinigami. He had claimed victory. His power was complete. The Soul King. The Soul King's Right Arm. The Soul King's Left Arm from his own Sternritter. The Soul King's Heart from another Sternritter. The Quincy and Hollow abilities of Kurosaki Ichigo. The entirety of the lives of his Sternritter.

He, the Almighty Yhwach, was invincible. He could see any future. He could change fate itself. He also possessed the Former Head Captain's Bankai, Zanka no Tachi. The idea of defeat was impossible to fathom... which is why something happened that he did not expect: In front of him was a figure covered in a white hooded robe. Something wasn't right. The person before him shouldn't be here and furthermore...

Their abnormal reiatsu was on the same dimension as him.

“It's been a very long time for me...” The figure whispered softly. “I've prayed and trained every day until the verge of death for this moment. The time when I could destroy you utterly, Yhwach.” The figure reached up with a white gloved hand and undid the clasp on the cloak before pulling the hood down to reveal their face.

Beautiful long ginger-colored hair cascaded down the woman's back. Her silver eyes glowed with a kind of radiant light that shone like the brightest stars in the night sky. Her heart shaped face was gorgeous, but also much older than one who had just seen her outside at the top of his Palace. “You must be confused, right?” Orihime spoke out softly. “I broke the law.” She smiled sadly. “In the future, everything is gone because of you... so I fled to the Dangai. I wanted to bring him back... so I made a gamble. I restored the Cleaner and had it hit me. It hurt so much... like my soul was breaking, but it flung me back in time. Back over one hundred years.”

“I was broken and torn to pieces. If I didn't have the Shun Shun Rikka, I would have died... but I succeeded. I trained. Again and again. Eventually, I learned to 'reject' my 'growth.' No... I 'rejected a human life' for myself.” Orihime slid the cloak off her shoulders to reveal that she wore a simple black shihakusho underneath. “After that, I kept going. Eventually, I surpassed the 'limits of a human being' and now stand before you.”

“Such a story would be lunacy.” Yhwach spoke out. “The very idea of such an outcome would be so slim that-” He cut off and stared at her.

“So slim that it wasn't worth a second glance, right?” She whispered as she grabbed the hilt of the sheathed sword at her hips. “I bet on your pride. That my weak self 'as a human' would make you indifferent to my future. That's why, here and now, you will die for my future.” She slowly drew the sword from her sheath before it happened. Halfway through unsheathing it, she vanished completely and reappeared on his left; her feet off the ground as if hopping with her sword falling down at his head to take his life.

Yhwach's black reiatsu from the Soul King's Right Hand blasted outward to slow her swing before he swung up at her left side and towards her right shoulder with a reishi sword; intending to slice her body in half diagonally. She swung her left leg up and deflected the weapon with a kick; causing Yhwach's eyes to widen before Orihime's sword glowed brightly. “Tsubaki! Ave Mundi!” Her sword burst out a phenomenal amount of reiatsu with the radiance of the stars in her blade. “Release!”

The explosion tore up the ground of the battlefield they stood in to pieces. The force of the clash blasted the pair ten meters apart from each other. She held her sword in one hand and stared at Yhwach calmly as a drop of blood fell from a cut made on his cheek. “...” He was deathly quiet before he smiled. A kind of cruel, malicious smile that would chill anyone who saw it. “Interesting. Your power is certainly a worthy threat, Inoue Orihime of the Future. I will tear your power out of your body and add it to my own!”

She raised her sword before a pillar of golden light erupted from it. “Bring it, bitch. Getsuga Tenshou.” Her sword came down and shot the golden wave of light rushed out at Yhwach. He quickly raised his black reiatsu as a shield before the attack impacted, however, Inoue wasn't done. She closed the distance between them in an instant; her sword held off to the side before her reiatsu frequency shifted. Dark reiatsu gathered at the tip of Orihime's Zanpakuto as she swung at his side. “Cero Oscuras.” The black and green blast of reiatsu formed a slash that joined with the Getsuga Tenshou and tore through the black reiatsu he used to defend.

He deflected the attack with his reishi sword, swinging up and to the right. Inoue took the opening he left and swung her sword up to stop his own to prevent her next move. Her fist, surrounded by golden light, impacted his face and blasted him through one of the pillar surrounding the central battlefield and into the empty stands supposedly made for those who wished to watch the fight. She chose not to pursue him; staring indifferently as he got up out of the rubble. His eyes narrowed. “What are you?” He demanded. “To use not only Getsuga Tenshou, but an Espada Cero as well?”

“You have no right to judge me.” Orihime replied in a soft voice. “In terms of base abilities, you far outstrip anyone in the world. You are a monster that can destroy the world... and that's why only someone who is at your level can fight you.”

“Hmph, such idiocy.” He stared at her with irritation. “It's pointless to entertain the idea of pushing me further than this, woman. I know what you've done: You've 'rejected' the state of your 'reiatsu as a human.' Because of this, you are able to copy techniques that should be impossible to copy. Shifting your reiatsu to a hollow to create an Espada Cero, and shifting your reiatsu to Ichigo's to replicate Getsuga Tenshou. The idea of such reiatsu control is absurd but... you've done it, haven't you?”

She smiled slightly at his words. “Perhaps, Yhwach. Why don't you use your eyes to see how I did it?” There was a deep silence. “But it's a tad rude to ask you to do the impossible, isn't it?” She held her sword in front of her. “I rejected the concept of Fate on myself.” Yhwach's eyes widened in shock. “Your power is to see Fate and Change it, but if you can't see the flow of Fate, or the 'grains of sand' revolving around my future, how could you possibly affect it?”

“Don't look down on the Almighty!” He roared out before Inoue vanished and reappeared in front of him with her sword at his throat. He couldn't move at all as her silver eyes stared at him as if looking down on him.

“How odd.” Orihime spoke out softly. “You act this proud despite the fact I've surpassed you. Is it truly so difficult to accept an honorable defeat? Or does the very notion of a 'mere human' surpassing you too much for your ego to handle?” Yhwach snarled before flames sparked from the medallion at his cloak clasp; causing Inoue's eyes to widen slightly before she jumped back.

“Bankai.” He spoke out before the world was covered in an inferno of flames and ash; the flames flowing outward to consume everything. She escaped the overflowing inferno directly around that Quincy King with numerous burns all over her body and her shihakusho in tatters. However the flames soon dispersed and vanished; leaving his sword charred. “Zanka no Tachi.”

“Captain Commander Yamamoto's Bankai?” Orihime whispered out softly. She had never seen it in person and, as she stared at the reiatsu given off by the weapon, she understood why Yamamoto was the leader of the Gotei for so long. “You can only steal from others, and your Zanpakuto is the same way.” Now she realized how they developed the medallions that could steal Bankai. It was based on his own Zanpakuto. “How sad. You aren't worth anything by yourself. You can only live when others lose.” She knew how difficult it would be to contend with the strongest Flame type Bankai in Soul Society's long history. However, despite that, she had come prepared: She immediately invoked her Battle Aura; a shroud of reiatsu around her body as Yhwach made his next move.

Yhwach flew at her like a wraith; the heat growing unbearable as he approached and swung his sword down at her. She wordlessly swung her sword up to parry it and she stopped it. The ground cracked and groaned under her feet from the force of the attack. She felt like she was in an oven already, or a volcano... but she was alive. She had already 'rejected' her body suffering from fire and heat based damage. Similarly, she 'rejected' the concept of her sword 'breaking' at all. There were limits to this rejection, however. Yamamoto's Bankai was far beyond her abilities to block completely, even if it was weakened in the hands of Yhwach. In fact, if she tried to block or attack him with anything but her sword right now, it would severely burn her body. It was taking all her power and focus just to be able to fight him with a sword...!

“Not even you can match Yamamoto Shigekuni's Bankai, woman!” He roared in triumph before the tip of his sword that clashed with her own weapon fired out white hot flames at hit her face straight on. Orihime had no time to react to stop the flames from searing her cheek and right eye; causing her to scream out in pain before he punched her straight in the gut; severely burning the lower half of her shihakusho and blasting her away. She skidded on the ground; her lower chest covered in at least third degree burns, along with almost half of her face. Her eye, though, was completely gone. “Rise and serve me in battle!” He stabbed the sword into the ground before countless skeletons broke out of the ground with burnt swords. “Zanka no Tachi: South. Kaka Jumanokushi Daisojin!”

“True... I can't match it. It's taking all my energy not to die... from close range combat.” She smiled weakly as her golden reiatsu aura flowed around her body to numb the pain. “So I'll break your Bankai before I'm incinerated. That's all.” She slammed her sword back into her sheath before the skeletons charged at her. An instant before they reached her, she spoke out. “Weave, Hanahime.”

She drew her sword and, in that instant, every skeleton was cut to pieces. “...What?” Yhwach froze at the sight in front of him. She had not moved other than to draw her sword and bend over slightly with her sword swung. She had done nothing to warrant every single shard of the burning army he raised. Had she made a single cut through his entire army, he'd accept it. It would be possible but very difficult yet... To skewer his entire army with a single attack...?! “What is this...?!” He shouted angrily but her only response to that was to look up at him with a triumphant smile. “Zanka No Tachi: North. Ten-”

She was a moment sooner; countless reishi threads wrapped around her Zanpakuto and shifted its' form. “Full Release: White Mist Sentence.” A wave of cold air froze his sword and arm in an instant. Orihime's right eye, right arm and chest were all covered in frostbite from using that ability. Rukia's Bankai. She could not replicate an ability like that easily, and her body was under a lot of strain just from using it for an instant. 'How skilled was Kuchiki-san to be able to control this properly...?' She wondered as she stared at Yhwach's wide eyes. “To replicate a Bankai is impossible, right?” She smiled slightly as blood flowed from her frostbitten parts of her body. “You're right, and you're wrong. Both with what thought flowed through your mind, and your guess with how I could copy others.”

“My Shikai had a simple ability, Yhwach. It could manipulate reishi strings. It was a simple ability, until I added the Shun Shun Rikka into the core of my Zanpakuto. When I did, it evolved further than anyone could possibly predict. The very essence to 'reject Fate' was merged into my Zanpakuto and my reishi strings.” Her eye closed before she open it to stare at him. “I am the Weaving Princess, Orihime.” The reishi strings sliced his medallion to pieces before binding him in place. “My strings cannot skewer you to pieces, but that's fine: Just keeping you there until I kill you from here is fine.”

“I see. You blundered, Inoue Orihime.” Yhwach grinned evilly before the threads became visible; as black as night. She gasped and quickly cut the threads as she jumped back; biting her lower lip fiercely as her left arm was mangled and twisted. She quickly cut the arm off before the damage spread any further; her breathing erratic. “The Soul King's Left Arm. The power to use my nerves to infiltrate your body, assimilate the information within it and control your body however I wish.”

“What a twisted ability.” Inoue smiled bitterly as she recreated her reishi strings and bound the wound shut. She didn't have the leeway to heal her body right now, or rather, she had no intentions to yet. Her remaining reishi strings moved to reform her clothing somewhat in critical areas. They'd act as a barrier against the nerves that she could discard if necessary. However, he also blundered in telling her that ability. She had the perfect counter, thanks to Ishida-kun. Her reiatsu shifted and she pointed her sword at him before speaking. “Gran Rey Cero.”

Yhwach raised his own Zanpakuto to block the attack; absorbing the reishi from the hollow ability. “Pointless, Inoue Orihime! I can absorb any reishi or reiatsu you plan to use against me with ease!” He shouted before she closed the distance and swung her foot at his head from the side. He lifted his left arm to block it. “It looks like you've abandoned your right leg, Inoue Orihime!” His nerves immediately reach out into her limb but nothing happens. “What?”

“Getsuga Tenshou!” She roared before swinging her sword down at his head; the golden light impacting his hastily raised sword and cutting into it before blasting him five meters away. “Raaagh!” She roared as she landed on her left foot and pushed off the ground; her right foot hitting the ground as she ran at Yhwach and swung her sword at his side; forcing him to defend. She attacked again and again; his nerves trying to infiltrate her body again and again. Each time, she was unaffected.

His eyes tried to see how and, with some difficulty, he saw the threads. 'Ransotengai, the use of reiyoku threads to control the body mentally. High-level Quincy Technique.' “Tch...! You can even replicate that?”

“That's right!” She shouted before she traced her threads through the air once again with her mind; trying to bind him in place and find a weak point in his Blut Vene. 'There has to be a weak point in the armor. Nothing is perfect...!' She had already pierced it once before, after all! She swung her sword at high speeds. 'Faster! Faster!' She shouted in her mind as she kept up the combination of thread weaving and swordplay.

Yhwach, however, was able to counter every single move. His black reiatsu worked to deflect the strings while his sword deflected her own weapon. He knew he wouldn't be able to control her with the Soul King's Left Arm ability now, and her threads were also immune. Something was odd about this fight. The longer it progressed and the further into a corner the woman was pushed, the stronger and more skilled she became. It was baffling and even her usual personality was odd.

She was smiling.

She was smiling in this life and death battle. Was she truly that confident in her victory...? His sword clashed with her own and his reiatsu lashed up to block every string. “What exactly are you?” He demanded. “Your growth rate is far too abnormal compared to the data we've collected on you.”

She smirked. “Call it the power of love.” Her reiatsu shifted once again. Now was the time to use it. “Antithesis.” In an instant, Yhwach's left arm was torn to pieces, his right eye and side of his face were burned severely, as was his lower chest.

“Guh... Haa...!” He looked up at her restored body with anger as his Blut worked to close his wounds while the black reiatsu of the Soul King's Right Arm stagnated the blood flow. “You... even that ability...?!”

“Antithesis, the power you gave Ishida-kun with your blood. It switches an event that happens to two designated people. In this case, the damage currently done to both of us.” She smiled. “I'll admit, though, you put up a good fight against me. I was even forced to use most of my abilities from my friends and my Shikai.” She bound him down with her threads before he could react in time. “However, it's over now.” Her threads gave out a hollow reiatsu signature. “Before you die, though, I'm taking something back from you...!” Her arm is covered in threads. “The Devil's Left Arm: La Muerte!” She thrust her fist into his chest.

“G-Guh.... You lowly human...!”

“That's right. I'm just a lowly human, but I still defeated you.” She found it and her hand grabbed the sword hilt tightly. “Come out, Zangetsu!” She roared before yanking out the pure white sword with a chain on the pummel from his stomach; causing him to cough out blood.

'Hot damn, Princess!' The hollow's voice echoed into her mind. 'You're a badass! Give me a turn with that hot body!'

She couldn't help but smile at his words. “Sure.” She accepted his wish. “But first, I'm destroying his body completely.” Her sword glowed with golden light in her right hand while the white blade in her left glowed with red light. She held them together; the colors mixing and merging to look like the sky at sunset. She decided to forego finding a weakness in Blut Vene, She'd just overpower it completely...! She merged her Getsuga Tenshou and Zangetsu's Gran Rey Cero and swung down at Yhwach; consuming his entire body in the glow of the setting sun before the air grew heavy; causing her knees to buckle. “What...?!”

“Come to think of it, woman, I have yet to show you the power of the Soul King's Heart.” Yhwach's voice echoed out of the destruction before multiple arrows skewered her chest; causing her to cough up blood. “And the terror and despair you shall feel at the Miracles brought forth!” His hand reached out of the destruction and grabbed her neck; choking her. “I will take your power, Inoue Orihime, for you are worthy of that!”

She had hoped she didn't need Bankai, but there was no choice. Before the life she possessed was choked out of her, she gasped out. “Ban... kai!”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Memories flowed by...

“How long could I use Bankai for without any risk to my body?”

'In the best case situation, with your body in perfect condition, using it once would probably cut your lifespan in half.' A little girl in a one piece white dress spoke out in reply. 'After that, each second you use it for would take another day. The longer the battle, the more of your soul would be drained. Furthermore, the reiatsu you bound to you from your friends would be devoured first. Any abilities would also be lost.'

“So I should never use it. Got it.”

'No. You'll have to use it.' The child spoke in a serious voice. 'Yhwach isn't someone you can face without your Bankai. I'm going to tell you now, Orihime: This isn't a fight you'll be returning from. You broke the laws and traveled through time. Even if you win, there's nothing left for you here. You're an anomaly that can never exist.'

“...I know. But if Kurosaki-kun... No, if Ichigo-kun lives, my own past self survives at his side, and I kill Yhwach, I'll happily die in peace knowing that I made a difference. That I avenged everyone who died in my timeline.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pillar of reiatsu shook the world just as she invoked it. Yhwach was forced back by the sheer quantity of reiatsu. He could not fully defend from it or absorb it all. “What...? Bankai?” He smiled and pulled out his spare medallion before black reiatsu streamed out into the golden pillar of light. However, the instant it touched the golden reiatsu, it traveled back along the black reiatsu and sparked violently; destroying the medallion. “Tch... I can't steal it?”

“Hoshi Akari Hanahime.” Her voice echoed out of the reiatsu.

The reiatsu around Inoue had vanished from Yhwach's senses completely; dissipating with no trace of it at all. Furthermore, he couldn't feel anything from her body. Nothing. So why...? Why did everything in him feel a primordial terror at her presence...?! Beautiful golden orange hair that flowed down her back; glowing from the reiatsu she could not contain within her body. Similarly, six golden yellow wings of light were on her back; glowing in a divine radiance. Her clothing was a simple frayed and worn white dress with the symbol of the Shun Shun Rikka in the center of it. There was also white hollow armor on her forearms, her shins, and her upper chest at her breasts. The armor also formed a skirt with her frayed dress and the white Tensa Zangetsu was sheathed at her side. On her head was a hollow-like tiara with golden markings along the top of it.

In her right hand was the shaft of a beautiful silver spear that had a three pronged tip; the blades on the interior of the weapon glowing a mixture of dark blue, purple and black. But what shocked Yhwach was the pummel of the spear: The Hougyoku. “Impossible...!” He whispered before she opened her silver eyes to stare at him. “That's impossible!” He roared before Inoue vanished and he raised Blut Vene to its' highest level.

“Sorry, but I can't waste any time in this form.” She whispered before completely eradicating his left arm and shoulder with a single thrust of her spear. The concept of 'rejection' was so high in this form that anything within range of her weapon was under her complete control. Her Bankai discarded every ability she possessed to 'reject' her 'weak' self. It augmented her power so much that it was eating away at her life energy and her soul itself.

“This...!” Yhwach choked out before jumping back to evade a thrust at his heart; the skin at the surface 'unmade' by her spear's presence a mere inch away. He didn't need his 'sight' to see what kind of ability that was, or the price she was paying for it. “You're going to burn out your own soul, Inoue Orihime!” He shouted with glee. How could he not be happy? Her power was on par with the other Special War Powers...! Five orbs of light form in the air. He had intended to take her power through the normal way, but she was too great of a threat to fight her at close range. “Sankt Altar!” He roared out before the orbs fired light at Inoue in the center of the five.

He watched smugly as the beams hit her but froze as the light was cut in half horizontally all around her; her expression indifferent. “What...?!” She vanished and he quickly raised his Zanpakuto before it was vaporized; along with his stomach and his left side as her spear thrust through and past his body. “Guh...” He coughed up blood before his body was restored. “As long... as I have the Soul King's Heart merged with my soul, I will not die, Inoue Orihime!”

“Then the solution is obvious.” She whispered; her body aging rapidly now. Silver streaks appearing in her hair. “I'll vaporize every single fragment of your body so you can never regenerate again.” She vanished and cut out more of his body with each and every swipe of her spear; her speed was practically teleportation at the pace she was going but... “Haa... Haa...” Her body was almost at its' limit. “Hanahime...!”

'Got it!' The little girl in her mind shouted. 'I hoped we could kill him, but its' just impossible for us at this point. We'll have to seal him and restrict his reiatsu. I'm ready to create it.'

“You're about to die...! But I still stand...!” Yhwach coughed out blood before his body regenerated.

“Ultimum Lancea Stella.” She held her spear in both hands; crouched down slightly with her legs spread apart. Pinpoint accuracy was necessary for this. She had to focus the very 'essence' of rejection in the spear tip. She made her move; vanishing and reappearing in front of him before he could react. She made four pinpoint thrusts at his upper arms and upper legs; severing them entirely before stabbing through his heart. “Stella Luce Signaculum!” Six points of light erupt from his chest before spreading out and forming a pure crystal that glowed with a golden color.

“This isn't over...! I will not be a pawn for the balan-” Yhwach's words came to a halt at his complete sealing; his very senses 'rejected' within the prison.

“Haa... Haa...” Inoue's body felt like it was dying. No, she was dying... but she had to reach him. She forced her weary legs to move as her life slowly faded away.

'Oi Princess!' The hollow shouted to her. 'You gave me your word!' He didn't sound like how he normally would, though. He had seen through her memories with their connection.

“Hehe... sorry, I guess I can't... give you my body...” Her hollow-like armor on her body cracked and shattered to dust. The golden radiance in her hair faded away entirely; as silver as her eyes now. “Look at me... even though I 'rejected' my aging... I'm turning into an old lady...” She smiled jokingly as she stumbled forward; almost tripping but Tensa Zangetsu jumped into her hand and stabbed into the ground to support her. “Thanks... and I'm sorry...” She whispered as she dragged her body towards the portal.

'Don't give me that crap, Princess!' The hollow spoke out with a trace of sadness in his voice. 'Is this how you wanted it to end?!'

“Yeah... I don't belong in this time. I had hoped to avenge them all... but this was for the best...” She whispered. “If Yhwach died, all I wanted to protect would have died as well... I came too close to giving into my own hatred... how stupid, right?” She stepped through the portal and appeared on the roof of Silbern, the Quincy Castle. She saw two familiar faces that stared at her cautiously and uneasily. They didn't recognize her. Her reiatsu was far too unstable and her appearance too old for them to tell. It didn't help that, for them, Yhwach had just left through that portal.

She couldn't help but smile weakly. “I had hoped... everyone would be here....” She whispered as she stumbled forward. “Please... Kuchiki-san, Abarai-kun... Don't stop me. I... I have something to give him...” His stolen sword and his stolen power. She had to return them to him before she died.

“No... I don't know who you are... but-” Rukia spoke out before the past Orihime spoke out from next to the sleeping Ichigo.

“Kuchiki-san, Abarai-kun... help her come over. Please.” Orihime wasn't sure who the person was yet, but they had no malicious intent or the power to do anything to anyone at this point. Plus... she felt like she knew this person.

“Thanks...” Inoue whispered to Rukia and Renji as they supported her shoulders. “I'm sorry, Kuchiki-san, Abarai-kun... and thank you for everything.” Renji stared at her in slight confusion but Rukia's eyes widened in amazement, as if she realized who she was helping.

Inoue pulled away from the pair after reaching Ichigo; falling to her knees next to the man she love. “Haa... Haa...” Her breathing was labored; but she still had to finish everything. She wearily lifted Tensa Zangetsu and placed it on the chest of her beloved. “Ichigo-kun... I made so many mistakes and blunders in my life...” She whispered to him softly. “I lost everyone I loved... and I had so much I wanted to do in life after the war was over.” She smiled. “I wanted to become a school teacher, and an astronaut, and open a cake shop, and go to a Mister Donut and say 'Give me Everything' and go to Baskin-Robbins and say 'Give me Everything'.” She laughed weakly as tears fell from her eyes. “It's too much for one person, isn't it? I thought back then, maybe if I had five separate lives. I could be from five different towns, and stuff myself with five different foods, and have five different jobs.”

Her past self stared at her future in shock as she recognized exactly who it was; her hands going to her mouth in horror. Despite the age, despite everything... it was her. The words, the tone in her voice... it tore her heart up watching this; tears streaming from her own eyes as well.

“And.. of course, I'd fall in love with the same person five times.” She caressed Ichigo's cheek gently. “Thank you... and goodbye...” She whispered before slowly closing her eyes as her life ended in silence with her last sight being the face of the man she loved.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“...Who was she? Oi, Rukia, why are you crying?” Renji spoke out in a subdued voice as he watched tears fall from her cheeks. He had been affected by the speech too, but not to that extent.

“Inoue, was she... was she really...?” Rukia stared at both the past and future of her best friend in the human world.

Orihime nodded with tears in her eyes. “Those were my words... what could have happened...? How could it have happened...?”

“I don't know.” Rukia admitted sadly. “But she saved us all, didn't she?” She looked at the dark portal. “Renji, take a look through there and then come back here. I don't think it's one way.” Renji sighed and walked through it before returning almost immediately with a Zanpakuto. “Huh?” She had noticed it. “Renji, how long were you in there?”

“A couple of minutes.” Renji spoke out. “Yhwach is sealed in a crystal in the center of some big arena. This Zanpakuto was stuck in the crystal, but it slid right out.” He walked over and showed Rukia the Zanpakuto; causing her eyes to widen. It was the exact same as hers. “Yeah, I noticed it too... shit, what the hell?”

'Thank you for bringing the sword. Now I can remove our trace from the timeflow.' A young girl's voice echoed out before the Zanpakuto and future Inoue's body began to turn into pure reishi and disperse.

“Wait!” Orihime shouted. “What happened...?! Why did this happen?!” However, her cries went unheard as her future self, a serene smile on her lips, finished breaking down into pure reishi. “Why...? Why did I have... to die...?”

'Take care of him.' The voice echoed out one last time.

Orihime was confused, hurt, and torn up at what had just happened, but she nodded firmly. “I will...! I won't let him fall into despair ever again...! I'll protect him, no matter what!”

**Author's Note:**

> In case you were curious, I used a mix of Japanese and Latin in this. (Yes, I used Google Translate. Apologies)
> 
> Japanese  
> Hanahime: Flower Princess  
> Hoshi Akari Hanahime: Starlight Flower Princess
> 
> Latin  
> Ave Mundi: Star Blade  
> Ultimum Lancea Stella: Last Lance Star  
> Stella Luce Signaculum: Star light Seal


End file.
